Saturday, August 29, 2015

Laura Mercier is best known for its high coverage and long lasting foundations and concealers, and I've had the High Coverage Concealer for Under Eye for awhile since last year, so I figured it was about time for me to do a review! I love my concealers for both face and undereye, and I'm always trying out whatever is new in terms of base makeup, so I was naturally extremely excited about this!

Laura Mercier High Coverage Concealer for Under Eye

I have the High Coverage Concealer for Under Eye in Shade 2, which is described as "Light Intensity with Warm Undertones". Of course, while this is formulated with undereyes in mind, you're free to use it for other parts of the face too!

Laura Mercier High Coverage Concealer for Under Eye: I have Shade 2, a light shade with warm undertones

Well, without further ado, let's get on with the swatches, and a before-and-after on my own eye (which does not lack in the dark circles department, let me tell you that)! And because I'm an ingredients nerd, we'll also take a look at the ingredients in this concealer and see what makes it so special.

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

The Face Shop's Natural Sun Eco Sunscreens consists of two sunscreens: the currently existing Natural Sun Eco Power Long-Lasting Sun Cream SPF45 PA+++, and also the new addition, the Natural Sun Eco Sebum Control Moisture Sun SPF40 PA+++. These sunscreens are something I've had on my radar for a long time (ahem, a few months, if you look at how long ago this Instagram post and this other Instagram post were), and I kept vacillating on whether I should review these, since summer is kind of almost over. But since the weather is still pretty hot right now even in August, I figure I'm still not too late to the party with this review! In any case, since I live in a hot and humid climate with sun all year round, it's always summer here, and correspondingly, sunscreen is a year-round must-have!

But even if you don't live in a hot sunny environment, it's always a good idea to wear sunscreen if it's a sunny day out, regardless of whether it's hot or cold. After all, even when it's cold or snowy outside, it's possible to get sunburned if the snow is reflecting sunlight. And, in my humble opinion, since sun damage is a huge contributor to skin ageing, sunscreen is really one of the cheapest and most efficient forms of anti-ageing products everyone should get! It's certainly cheaper than an expensive anti-ageing cream, and also probably more likely to actually do what it says on the packaging. The Face Shop's Natural Sun Eco Sunscreens are just one of the many sunscreens available that you can check out.

The Face Shop Natural Sun Eco Sunscreens: Sebum Control is the newer addition

As you can probably guess from the name, the Sebum Control version of the Natural Sun Eco Sunscreen is meant more for oily skin, and to help control oil, while the Long-Lasting Sun Cream is meant for normal skin types. But I'm sure you have some questions: what is the difference in formulation between the two? Is it worth getting both, or just one? And what are the sunscreen filters, anyway, and is this sunscreen going to be sticky on my skin? To do that, we'll take a look at the Natural Sun Eco Power Long-Lasting Sun Cream SPF45 PA+++, which is the original sunscreen that first came out, and then we'll take a look at the newer Natural Sun Eco Sebum Control Moisture Sun SPF40 PA+++. From there, we can compare the two and get a sense of the differences between the two formulas.

The Face Shop Natural Sun Eco Sunscreens: Sebum Control and Long-Lasting actually have very different formulas

Saturday, August 22, 2015

MUFE, or Make Up For Ever, has released two Artist Shadow Palettes for Fall 2015. The two Artist Shadow Palettes are Artist Shadow Palette 1, which is a neutrals palette, and Artist Shadow Palette 2, which has bright shades. These are definitely one of the Fall items I was looking forward to, because MUFE usually has very good quality products, and their palettes usually have the same quality as their single eyeshadows, too.

As you can imagine, my penchant for neutrals means that I absolutely had to check out the Artist shadow Palette 1 - I mean, a collection of 9 top-notch neutrals in a pretty palette is not something I would pass up! I've actually swatched some of the MUFE Artist Shadows before (here and here and another palette here), and I've been playing around with the existing shades I have and these are really pretty good.

The campaign celebrates 5 years of Hada Labo Arbutin Lotion (which I've reviewed before), and in line with that, the brand was looking for 5 real users of the product who had used the lotion for 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 years respectively, and also 5 different types of people (e.g. corporate types, active types, creative types, and so on). I was approached because the brand actually found me through my instagram profile because I uploaded some photos of their products, and had tagged the brand. Since this was a campaign featuring real users, I was not paid for my participation in the campaign, and my part in it was not scripted either.

Behind the scenes: With makeup artist Danny Kong at the photoshoot (Disclaimer: This particular photo has a filter from my iPhone because it was on the wrong filter setting when I took it, but all other photos in this post are not filtered!)

I was approached to be the 2-year user, and the corporate warrior/office worker type, which I am in real life. But because I was also uncomfortable with talking too much about my job in real life, we also discussed focusing on my personality as a fairly analytical person, with my blog as an example of that analytical ability extended to evaluating products and skincare. I do mention my field in brief in the video, but it's not the focus of the video. So I was very happy that I wasn't shoved a script in my face and told to recite it, and that they were able to take into consideration my concerns and desire for (some) privacy.

Behind the scenes: With makeup artist Danny Kong at the videoshoot

After that, I was brought on to do the photoshoot and videoshoot for the campaign. And I took some behind-the-scenes photos, which I thought I'd share with you guys. They're all taken with my iPhone, and I didn't take that many, because I didn't want to interrupt the work that was going on, or get in anyone's way, so for the most part, I waited until there was some downtime, then quickly took a shot or two on my iPhone. But, I think I took enough photos to give you a sense of the entire process!

Sunday, August 9, 2015

Jane Iredale's LipDrink Lipbalm expanded its range to include two new colours, Buff and Crush, a few months back for Summer. I guess I'm a few months late, but I guess lipbalm is kind of a year-round kind of product, so it's never too late, right? The addition of some colours to their lipbalm is pretty welcome, because up to now, the LipDrink Lipbalm came in only one shade, a clear one, so for those who want some colour to their balms (that includes me!), this is a welcome move.

Jane Iredale LipDrink Lipbalm SPF15: Two new hades, Crush and Buff

I figure I'm in the best possible position to test these lipbalms and other lip products that claim to be moisturizing, because right now I'm on isotretinoin for my horrible acne (sigh), and one of the side effects of isotretinoin is that you get dry lips. So I've been on the hunt for anything and everything that claims to give my dry, peeling lips some respite, and I just had to review these!

Jane Iredale LipDrink Lipbalm SPF15: Claims to feel more moist on the lips than a traditional balm

And for this review, we'll start off at the usual place - the ingredients list! We'll then go onto some swatches, and my own personal experience with the product.

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

The Face Shop's Character Mask is a new launch from the Kbeauty brand, and it is a sheet mask with cute animal face designs printed onto it. As the name indicates, when you wear the sheet mask, you are also wearing a "character mask" of sorts, and The Face Shop has 5 masks for you to choose from - panda, fox, sheep, dragon, and tiger.

The Face Shop Character Masks: A pretty good example of "skincaretainment", where your skincare is fun to use

Of course, the benefit is more aesthetic than functional. After all, a sheet mask is a sheet mask, whether it has a cute animal face printed on it or not, and the fact that it has a panda face printed on it doesn't change its function. Still though, in the vein of "skincarentainment" (a term I've seen thrown around with respect to Asian beauty, particularly Kbeauty products), this is pretty novel to use - you put on the sheet mask, and boom! instant panda face! It does inject some fun into your skincare routine, which I guess is the concept behind "skincarentainment": it's not just about the product, but also the experience, fun, and novelty of using it.

The Face Shop Character Mask: A new launch from the Kbeauty brand, with cute animal designs on the mask

That does sound pretty cool, right? And The Face Shop is certainly not the only brand catching on - there are a few other Japanese and Korean brands having such sheet masks too. Nevertheless, as an old fogey of a beauty blogger (more than 5 years, which is sort of like forever in internetz time), I'm really more concerned with how the product works, than whether it entertains me or not. I mean, I go to the movies to be entertained, but when I choose my skincare, I'm not looking to have a good time, I just want to know if it works, and if it's within my budget. If it does happen to be fun to use, then that's a bonus, but evidently I'm a cranky old grandma who doesn't bother too much about whether my mask looks cute or not. And does The Face Shop Character Mask work? The only way to find out is to start by looking at what exactly is in the product, and take a trip to the ingredient list!

Saturday, August 1, 2015

Skinia is a Korean brand of makeup that is sold by HKCPlaza, a Korean retailer, which also carries some of the LHJ (Lee Ji Ham) skincare products, some of which I've reviewed before. To say Skinia is a brand of makeup is a bit of an overstatement though - as far as I can tell, they have some lip tattoos, and that's it! When I posted about the Skinia Some Lip Tattoos on Instagram sometime back, I had some questions about the product, so I figured I should post my swatches of the product!

Skinia Some Lip Tattoo: Peel off lip tattoos or lip packs are popular in Asia now

For those who are not sure what a "lip tattoo" is, it is not actually permanent makeup. It is basically a lipstain that comes in a thick gel that dries down to a film. You basically apply the gel onto your lips, wait for it to dry down (5 - 10 minutes mostly), and peel it off, to reveal the stain on your lips. The stain is less intense than the original colour, but if you leave the stain on longer, then you'll get a stronger colour on your lips. Other Kbeauty brands also have such products, under varying names - some call them lip tattoos, some call them lip packs, and so on. Just think of them as peel-off lip stains! These types of peel-off lip tattoos are getting really popular here lately, and I guess it's just a matter of time consumers in the West will catch on too.

For those who need a visualization, the photo above shows how it works. You can see the colour that has seeped into my skin being left behind, while the rest of the dried product is being peeled off. And now for swatches!